Nightmares
by liuli-xia
Summary: Set between "The High King's Tomb" and "Blackveil".   Even in her sleep, the eerie words of circumstantial meetings and memories of unnatural happenings plagued her mind.   "No, let me go!" she cried, tossing more violently now. "No!"


Hello! This is my first Green Rider fic. I absolutely love Karigan's character, and how she evolves through out the story. All the italicized sections are excerpts from the series. There are no pairings at all! Sorry to disappoint.

**Disclaimer: **There would be more angst if I owned this.

**A/N: **I have Fastion in the story because Karigan is considered an honorary Weapon and I believe that at least one Weapon would walk through the Riders' quarters to check up on her, even if it is unnecessary, because they probably have a better idea of what she is going through than most of the Riders (no offense to the Riders!) since they mainly work with the king or the tombs.

Karigan lay peacefully asleep in the Rider Halls within the castle. Suddenly, a moan escaped her mouth and her face contorted into a frown. Even in her sleep, the eerie words of circumstantial meetings and memories of unnatural happenings plagued her mind.

_**He looked her up and down… "You are touched by the dead, but not dead. Not yet."**_

"Not dead," she muttered. "I'm not dead."

"_**Galadheon," Prince Jametari said in a prophetic voice, "you shall hear Westrion's wings brush the air. To live, you must first die."**_

She shifted in her sleep and moaned again. "Won't die. Not dead."

_**There was a spectral blurring as Lil stood… and as she faded away she spoke. **__How did _you_ die?_

She whimpered in her sleep. "No… Didn't… Die."

_**Her eyes focused on the arrow protruding from her chest, an arrow with a white shaft and fletching. She screamed at the sight of crimson blooming from her chest… but the arrow turned to smoke and drifted away. The blood vanished, too. She pawed at her chest finding no evidence of arrow or wound.**_

She tossed and turned violently as her dream became a nightmare, bordering on a night terror. A scream echoed off her chamber's walls.

**_From a world away, his voice came to her. He asked, _Do you know what you are? **

"Human." She whimpered into the cold silence of her chamber, still fast asleep.

_**Agemon turned to her. "I remember you... You will not leave the tombs this time. You have broken taboo."**_

"No, let me go!" she cried, tossing more violently now. "No!"

Her cries brought a startled Laren Mapstone to the young Rider's chamber, followed by several others who had also been startled awake. Immediately, the captain rushed to her side to help her.

"Go! Let go!" Karigan screamed as tears ran down her face.

Laren, Fergal, and Fastion exchanged worried glances. Just what was plaguing her mind to cause such terror?

_**The spirits marched and floated towards her… **Join us, join us, join us**, they said to her… **Avataaar…** they whispered… **Awakened,** the spirits moaned, **Why are we awakened from our sleep?... Why? **The dead implored. **Why are we awakened?... Whyyy?** They wailed.**_

Her head began to roll from side to side. "No… Leave me. Go away! I won't join you! No! Not dead! Don't want to be Avatar!"

Laren stroked the young woman's face while she tried to make sense of the screamed words. Who wanted her to join them? Who wasn't dead? What was this Avatar that she didn't want to be? And why did these terrify her like this? As Karigan screamed again, she sent Fastion to guard the door and Fergal to retrieve medicine to calm the dreaming woman's mind.

_"Come,"** Karigan-Westrion commanded and pointed the lance at the void… To the spirits and corpses of royalty, the death god said, **"Return to your byres and sleep."_

"Go," Karigan cried, starting to calm. "Sleep. Go. Leave. Go…"

No longer was she thrashing or tossing or turning, though her face was still contorted. As something swirled into her mind, she'd whimper, though it'd soon pass. Fergal soon returned with the medicine and handed it to the captain, who left it on the bedside table.

"You can go now, Fergal. And you, too, for that matter, Fastion. I'll care for her until she awakes."

Accepting the dismissal, the two departed for their chambers. Turning her back towards the door, Captain Mapstone focused all of her attention on the person in front of her. Karigan may look better now, but the older woman was quite sure that the terrors would come to visit often in the night. It was her duty to care for her Riders, just as the previous captains had, but she also cared for Karigan as a second daughter. As any caring mother would, she was going to see the trouble-minded woman through the night.

_**The black stallion awaited her on the plains… A storm was reflected in his eyes, a turmoil of snow squalls warring in shifting winds… He gazed at her, waited for her to make some sort of decision… **_

When Karigan whimpered once more, Laren took her hand and stroked her face, reminding her that everything would be okay.


End file.
